


Breathe

by waitineedaname



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Character Death In Dream, Dogs And Cuddles Help Most Things, Found Family, Gen, Night Terrors, Panic Attacks, Post-Canon, huh that's actually a tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 17:08:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13415769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waitineedaname/pseuds/waitineedaname
Summary: Angus had seen and done more than most people eight times his age. He'd solved countless mysteries, joined a secret society, fought in the Day of Story and Song, and he lived to tell the tale.But he was still just a kid.





	Breathe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starlightwalking](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightwalking/gifts).



> so this was a request on tumblr EXCEPT it wasn't bc I'm a dumbass and I read it wrong? the request said Merle and I read Magnus and wrote all this before realizing I was Incorrect. I didn't want to let it go to waste though, so! Here we are

Angus had seen a lot for a kid his age. He’d solved more mysteries than most retired detectives, gotten out of more sticky situations than people eight times his age. He’d jumped out of a train as it got shot into a portal going gods’ know where, joined a secret society on the moon, helped three adventurers through a crystalline lab full of ghosts, robots, and intrigue. He’d fought on the Day of Story and Song and lived to tell the tale. He’d been adopted into the ragtag group of heroes that saved the world - and a hundred others - and he’d found a family he always hoped he would have. 

But he was still just a kid.

He was spending the night at Magnus’s house. It hadn’t escaped him that when they all moved into their separate places, there was an extra room for him in each house, but he knew better than to mention it. He was on break from school, and Magnus was always eager to invite him over to help with the dogs. 

Right now, it was a little bit past one in the morning, and he really should be sleeping, but he had this paper to edit on the history of divination, and he had a feeling in his gut that when he did eventually fall asleep, it wasn’t going to be restful.

He flipped the page and bit back a yawn as he ran his eyes over the next sentence, struggling to keep his eyes open. Maybe if he closed them for just a moment-

And suddenly, he was back on Rockport Limited, on a trip that felt like it was so long ago. Except something wasn’t right. There weren’t three adventurers at his shoulder, throwing quips back and forth, teasing him in a way he grew to understand was their form of affection. There wasn’t anyone. Not even Jess or Graham. He was alone on the train. Panic seized his chest, and he sprinted through the cars. Where were they? They had to be around here somewhere, they had to-

He froze. He was back where they’d once found Hudson’s body, except-

Except the murdered engineer wasn’t lying there. Three beheaded corpses laid on the ground, surrounded by blood. A dwarf, an elf, a human.

It was getting harder to draw breath. Angus whirled around and without making the conscious decision to do so, he went to the windows. Outside, he didn’t see the tunnel shooting by. No, he saw a sky made up of multicolored darkness. His gut dropped horribly when he realized the train-

The train was on a collision course directly into the Hunger.

Angus was going to pass out. He had to get out of the train, _right now._ He ran to the next car, and the next, and the next, and the next, and he really should have reached the end by now, but the train just kept going and going and going, and when he looked out the window, he saw the decimated remains of Faerun, and gods, he was almost at the Hunger, he was going to die-

“Angus!”

Angus jolted awake just as a scream escaped his lips. He wasn’t on the train anymore, but he was too disoriented to really get a bearing of where he was. His chest heaved as he struggled to draw breath, and he realized with a start that hot tears were streaming out of his eyes.

“Angus, kiddo, it’s alright.” The same gruff but tender voice that had woken him shushed him quietly, and a pair a warm arms pulled him into a hug. Magnus. This was Magnus. He was in Magnus’s house. The brush of sideburns against the top of his head told him that Magnus most definitely was alive and not beheaded. He was safe. They were both safe. “I’ve got you. Breathe, okay? I’ve got you.” 

Angus allowed himself to relax marginally, even though he was clinging to Magnus’s shirt. There was a bark from beside them, and a small terrier that had taken a particular liking to Angus squirmed in between them.

“I’m sorry if I woke you, sir.” Angus said after a while, his voice watery.

“Hey, you don’t have to apologize. You looked like you were having a rough time there.” Magnus pulled away a little bit to turn on the light and get a better look at Angus. “Do you wanna talk about it?” Angus slowly shook his head. “Okay.” He paused, considering Angus with worried eyes. “...Do you have night terrors like that often?” Angus hesitated, then slowly nodded. “Aw, kid…”

“Don’t worry about me, though. I’m fine, sir, I can manage them on my own.”

“Yeah, but you know you don’t have to, right?” Angus didn’t have a response for that. “...You know I used to have nightmares like that?” Angus looked up at him, still teary eyes wide. “Yeah, Taako too. Shit, all of us did. Didja know we used to sometimes have these big cuddle piles on the Starblaster when we had them, too?” That made the boy detective laugh softly, imagining the seven of them piled on top of each other. Magnus grinned too and kissed the top of his head in a way that gave Angus the distinct impression of a dad he never had. “Do you think that might help? I know it’s just me and Rocky here-” The dog yipped at the sound of its name. “-but it’s better than nothing.”

Angus smiled and wiped his eyes, nodding just a little. “I’d like that.”

Magnus nodded and stood up, gathering Angus’s scattered papers - he must have fallen asleep on top of them, Angus realized - and setting them on the nearby desk before laying down. Angus laid down too and let himself be pulled half onto Magnus’s chest. He giggled softly when Rocky hopped up with him and licked his nose before settling down to sleep too.

With Magnus’s heavy arm holding him securely, Angus slept solidly the rest of the night.


End file.
